FREE
AUSTINWEEKLY news ■
Vol. 33 No. 39
■
Couple donates $1M to United Way, Austin Coming Together,
September 25, 2019
■
austinweeklynews.com
■
Also serving Garfield Park
@AustinWeeklyChi
@AustinWeeklyNews
PAGE 6
MAAFA andd th the massacre on Madison Street, page 7
City releases West Side traffic safety plan Vision Zero, started two years ago, now has West Side recommendations under Mayor Lightfoot By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter
ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer
When the Chicago Department of Transportation originally released the Vision Zero Chicago traffic safety plan on June 2017, activist Oboi Reed and others argued that the city didn’t do enough to reach out to residents on the South and West sides and take their perspectives into account. The plan’s West Side recommendations, which were released on Sept. 12, tackle that criticism. CDOT did extensive outreach, working with residents and community organizations such as BUILD Chicago and the North Lawndale Community Coordinating Council to make sure it not only fits community priorities, but complements existing quality of life plans. The end result places emphasis on education over ticketing, as well as improving safety around transit stations and schools, and making streets safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. Although it identifies several specific corridors and intersections that would get improvements, See VISION ZERO on page 10
RECLAIMING SPACE: Hundreds of people descended on public spaces on the West and South Sides on Sept. 13 for the last Light in the Night event in which all nine members of the Communities Partnering 4 Peace initiative participated.
Out of indoors, into the night
Communities Partnership 4 Peace’s Light in the Night events designed to reclaim public space By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
Regenay Bridges lives within walking distance of Garfield Park, on the corner of Homan Avenue and Madison Street in East Garfield Park, but the 14-year-old admitted she rarely frequents the green
space. That’s because the park is hardly a place for teenagers, even during a sunlit early summer evening. “People be up here — crackheads and stuff,” Bridges said. “There are no kids here. Not really.” On Sept. 13, however, Bridges made an exception. She and a small group of friends gathered within the park and made small talk while Marvin Gaye blasted through loudspeakers and smoke wafted from a nearby grill. Since 2017, the nine organizations that are members of Communities Partnering 4 Peace (CP4P) have conducted Light in the Night — an anti-violence outreach
strategy that involves lots of people swarming areas similar to Garfield Park in low-income communities across the South and West Sides. “This is part of an effort to reclaim safe spaces for the community,” said Yolanda Fields, the chief program officer for Breakthrough — a nonprofit based in East Garfield Park that offers a plethora of programs and resources designed to enhance the quality of life for residents in low-income areas of the city. “We’re out here every Thursday, Friday and Saturday across nine neighborhoods
State Farm Mutual Automobile • Insurance Company State Farm Indemnity Company • Bloomington, IL • statefarm.com® Larry and his staff are licensed and together have over 75 years of State Farm experience.
See LIGHT IN THE NIGHT on page 11
Larry Williams,Agent 5932 W. Lake Street Chicago, 60644 (773) 379-9010 larry.williams.b0bk@statefarm.com